China grows 4.5% in third quarter – exports strong, domestic demand weak
China's economy picked up slightly and beat expectations. Exports remain the engine, with the nine-month trade surplus at about $938 billion.
Symbolic image · Photo: Bruno Corpet (Quoique) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
China's gross domestic product grew 4.5% year on year in July–September, the statistics office said on Monday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected 4.4%. Growth was 4.3% in the second quarter, the weakest in more than three years, and 5.0% in the first. Quarter on quarter, the economy expanded 1.2%.
Industrial output rose 5.5% year on year in September, while retail sales grew only 1.1%. Beijing is targeting 4.5% to 5% growth for the full year. Customs data show exports up 21.3% in dollar terms in the first nine months, with a trade surplus of about $938 billion (about €834 billion).
Domestic demand remains weak: consumers are holding back and investment is advancing slowly. The main reason is the years-long property crisis. The huge surplus is fuelling tensions with trading partners, especially Europe, where there are fears of pressure from cheap Chinese goods.